WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. manufacturing sector saw robust growth in November amid continued supply chain bottlenecks, though there are signs of slight improvement, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported Wednesday.
The Purchasing Managers' Index stood at 61.1 percent, up 0.3 percentage point from the October reading. Any reading above 50 percent indicates the manufacturing sector is generally expanding.
"The U.S. manufacturing sector remains in a demand-driven, supply chain-constrained environment, with some indications of slight labor and supplier delivery improvement," said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM's manufacturing business survey committee.
"All segments of the manufacturing economy are impacted by record-long raw materials and capital equipment lead times, continued shortages of critical lowest-tier materials, high commodity prices, and difficulties in transporting products," Fiore said.
He added that pandemic-related global issues -- worker absenteeism, short-term shutdowns due to parts shortages, difficulties in filling open positions and overseas supply chain problems -- "continue to limit manufacturing growth potential."
The Prices Index registered 82.4 percent, down 3.3 percentage points compared to the October figure, while the Supplier Deliveries Index registered 72.2 percent, down 3.4 percentage points from the October figure, the ISM report showed.
The New Export Orders Index registered 54 percent, a decrease of 0.6 percentage point compared to the October reading, and the Employment Index registered 53.3 percent, 1.3 percentage points higher compared to the October reading, according to the report.
"We are not out of the woods by any means, but wait times for supplier deliveries and prices both fell by more than three points in November," Tim Quinlan and Shannon Seery, economists at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in an analysis.
"The fact that this occurred alongside an improvement in orders and employment makes this ISM manufacturing release the best report card for the manufacturing sector that we have seen in months -- a welcome indication that the choke points in the supply chain are clearing, if only incrementally," they said. Enditem